Great Scottish Witch Hunt of 1597

It is not known what caused the Witch Hunt of 1597, but at the time, Scotland experienced a political conflict between the monarch and the Presbyterian Church, as well as plague and famine.

In Edinburgh, a witch trial took place in 1596, when Christian Stewart was accused of having bewitched Patrick Ruthven to death, a case in which the king took a personal interest.

In August Bowes heard that a witch MacKolme Anderson and others had attempted to drown the king at Dundee by witchcraft and others had tried to kill Prince Henry.

[1] The earliest cases recorded seem to have taken place in Slains north of Aberdeen in March 1597, where the local authorities asked for permission to execute witches.

Bowes wrote on 15 August that, "the King hath been lately pestered and in many wayes troubled in the examination of the witches, which swarme in execeeding number and (as is credibly reported) in many thousands".

The accused were drawn all social classes; "The King hath his mynd onlie bent upon the examination and tryall of sorcerers, men and women.